Future Flashes
by RootsOfInsanity
Summary: Naruto has been experiencing vivid nightmares. The day of his Genin exam, he finds that his dreams are coming true. Can Naruto prevent his nightmares? Or will he be tormented by these future flashes? Gradually Smarter!Naruto. Slight AU at first, will diverge later on, while retaining important aspects of canon. Mature content due to graphic violence.
1. Nightmare

***Edit: I did make some corrections on spelling and grammar. I added some more description in some scenes, and added a bit more to others. A change to the summary was also made. 7/29/15***

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

"Speech"

" **Demon Speech"/ Jutsu**

 _Flashback text_

" _Thoughts"_

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He watched as a tattered-clothed blonde ran through the trees and into the clearing. The boy was followed by a dozen kunai that shimmered a shade of purple. The boy dodged to the left and rolled on the ground, but despite his best efforts, two kunai struck his left thigh. Adrenaline blocked the pain, but it could not stop the purple liquid from entering his blood stream.

The blonde boy, unable to run any longer, rested his weight on the large scroll he was carrying. Fatigue pushed the boy to the ground; his shaky legs could not hold him upright.

"It's too late to rest now demon!" The boy's pursuant made himself known, landing on a tree branch adjacent to his prey. The predator, it seemed to Naruto, was a tall man. Naruto could not discern more due to the shadows hiding the ninja's features.

Shifting his eyes to the blonde boy who was being pursued, Naruto noticed the preteen's jumpsuit, a ripped replica of the one he was wearing. Upon further inspection, Naruto saw various cuts along the boy's arms, legs, and torso. If not for the blood and dirt that covered the jumpsuit, Naruto would have sworn that it was the same shade of bright orange that he was wearing.

How had the boy gotten a hold of it? The jumpsuit was his trademark for a reason- he had tailored it himself with scraps of fabric he had snatched during his pranks. His tailoring skills improved over the years; the jumpsuit even seemed store bought.

"Can't talk already? The poison is acting quicker than I thought. I'm sure you can still feel pain though." The light coming from the full moon revealed a typical green chunnin vest wrapped around the man's torso. His face was still hidden in the shadows.

"Oi! Leave the boy alone and go pick on someone your own size!" Naruto's threat landed on deaf ears.

The chunnin jumped down from the branch and began to kick the boy's stomach ferociously. As the chunnin continued to kick, his whispered chuckle turned into a manically laugh.

 **CRASH!** The ninja suddenly stopped as the sound of a tree falling was heard in the clearing.

"I would stay to see you suffer, but somebody has set off one of my traps. It must be that good for nothing Iruka. Thank you for getting the scroll for me, demon- _kun!"_ The chunnin bent down and placed the large scroll on his back.

"The poison will eventually kill you but until then…" The ninja raised his foot and brought it down to the boy's leg. With a sickening crack, the leg bent at unnatural angle, clearly broken. The pain drove the boy into unconsciousness.

"Demon's deserve more than!" A slew of punches met the blonde's face. Wiping the blood of his gloves, the chunnin gave a low chuckle and began to make his escape, but not before setting a small trap for his dear colleague Iruka.

"Hey! Come back here!" Naruto yelled, but the fading figure ignored him.

"Naruto!" A brown haired man broke through the bushes, but instead of running towards the conscious Naruto, he ran towards the unconscious blonde. Iruka visibly relaxed as he found the boy's pulse.

"Iruka-sensei, this boy was beaten by a ninja that left that way," Naruto signaled to the canopy of trees the ninja had used to make his getaway.

"…"

Iruka continued to look after the blonde boy, checking his injuries. Iruka was able to poorly set the blonde's broken leg.

" _That would do until I can get him to a medic nin…"_

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto tried again.

"…" Fear began to well up inside Naruto.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" He was sure that he could hear him, but his teacher paid him no attention.

"Not you too, Iruka-sensei…" His voice an inaudible whisper as tears flooded his eyes. How could his Iruka-sensei ignore like the rest of his villagers? Had it all been an act? Did his teacher not acknowledge him?

One of the blonde's eyes opened; the other was swollen shut. He attempted to open his mouth, but as soon as he did, blood spattered over most of Iruka's face.

"It's a trap, Iruka-sensei. It was Mi…" The blonde warned as he lost consciousness. Iruka, still dazed by the blonde's blood, could not hear the warning, nor could he see the large shuriken that was headed towards his exposed neck.

"No!" Naruto felt pain of being rejected by one of the only men that recognized him. Intent on stopping the projectile at the cost of his own life, Naruto jumped in between Iruka and the shuriken.

SPLAT!

The shuriken met its target. Naruto had felt no pain. It must have been an instant death. He opened his eyes and realized that he was still in the same clearing as a few seconds ago.

" _The afterlife sure is weird. Maybe I'm a ghost stuck in the world…"_ Naruto examined his surroundings. His eyes set on a trail of blood that surely wasn't there before he jumped. Following the trail, he saw Iruka's headless body on top of the blonde boy.

Anger welled up inside of Naruto and everything turned red. Bloodlust took a hold of him as he let out a feral scream. Chakra was expelled from Naruto's body.

" **Take his life! He killed Iruka** _ **-sensei,"**_ A deep voice demanded as Naruto lost control. The voice let out a demonic laugh as Naruto took to the trees. He did not look back as the blonde boy regained consciousness…

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Naruto awoke drenched in sweat. He attempted to get up, but his body protested. Forcing himself up, he looked around and noticed he was in his one room apartment. He did not remember coming home.

"Heck, I don't even remember anything after that voice…" Naruto thought worriedly. Knowing that he would not be able to fall asleep, Naruto undressed from his pajamas and put on his trademark orange jumpsuit.

"It all felt so real…"

KNOCK! KNOCK!

There was knocking at Naruto's door. He never received visitors at this time of the night. On second thought, Naruto never had visitors. Ever. The only people that actually acknowledged him were Iruka-sensei and Hokage-jiji, but neither of them had once been to his apartment.

Slowly, Naruto grabbed his sharpest kunai, but he knew it was useless; it was as dull as a butter knife! But it was the best he had. Taking a "menacing" stance, he opened the door, ready to attack whoever was on the other side.

Seeing a figure in the moonlight, Naruto lunged.

"Ho, ho, ho, Naruto-kun, you should not attack your visitors that way." The Sandaime Hokage said as he caught Naruto's small wrist.

"Hokage-jiji?! I swear, I didn't steal your orange book!"

"Orange book?" The Sandaime's confusion turned into mild panic as he realized what book Naruto was talking about.

"I didn't paint the Hokage Monument! _Yet"_

The Sandaime laughed at the boy's antics.

"I just returned from a meeting with the Fire Daimyo, and I wanted to check up on you." The elderly man did not like lying to the young boy, but one did not become the leader of a ninja village based on truths alone.

" _He seems normal, if a little tired, but there is nothing out of the ordinary. But that chakra spike was definitely cause by the Kyuubi."_ The old man examined Naruto with great caution.

"Let's go to Ichiraku's Ramen, my treat. There are some questions I would like to ask you…"

"RAMEN!" Naruto yelled, his nightmare all but forgotten. The duo left the apartment and began to head over to the ramen stand. Neither of them noticed waxing gibbous moon that illuminated the night sky.

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The next morning, the sunlight woke Naruto from a restless sleep. After coming home from his favorite ramen stand, Naruto went straight to bed. Sleep, however, eluded him; the scene from the ramen stand played on and on. Fortunately, he was able to fall asleep, even if it was for a half hour.

" _Why would Hokage-jiji want to know all those things? Good thing I didn't tell him about the nightmares…"_

His body was sore, and for once he could not feel the vibrant energy that usually coursed throughout his veins. It had to be the nightmares that were draining him of his energy.

For the past week, Naruto had been having nightmares. One night, he dreamt that he was late for his Genin exam. Damn alarm clock had fallen to the floor and accidentally turned off. In the same dream, he rushed to his cupboard only to find that it was empty. He had run out of cup ramen. He woke himself up after he spilled boiling water on himself in his dream.

In another dream, he was about to kiss Sakura, and she suddenly turned into Sasuke. Thinking about that one still gave him the chills.

And last night's nightmare had been the worst. He was looking forward to going to the academy and seeing his teacher alive and well.

Deciding to get ready for class, Naruto stepped out of bed, only to step on his alarm clock…

" _That's weird,"_ Naruto thought with a sense of déjà vu. He glanced towards his calendar and noticed that today was the day of his Genin exam. He looked at his alarm clock; it was only 11:46.

"EEEHHH! Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Naruto said as he rushed out of bed and back into his jumpsuit. He set water to boil as he went to his cupboard. Opening it, he found his last cup ramen. Sighing in relief, Naruto opened it. He was meet with nothing but Styrofoam. He tossed the cup to the floor.

"Not again!" Naruto screamed while cursing the "crooked shop owners" who sold him empty cup ramen. The water boiling in the pan was now useless, so Naruto decided to take it off the stove. As he grabbed the pan, he slipped on the cup and spilled the water on himself.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

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Naruto busted into the classroom, panting from exhaustion. Not sleeping, along with not having breakfast, was finally catching up with the boy.

"Naruto, where have you been?!" Iruka demanded. "We were supposed to start half an hour ago!"

"Eh, I was lost on the road of life?" Naruto said, recalling the silver-haired cyclops that helped him train in one of his previous nightmares.

" _He sounds like Hatake Kakashi,"_ Iruka thought. "Never mind that go take a seat."

Naruto looked around the classroom, looking for Haruno Sakura, the prettiest girl in their class. Finding her pink hair, Naruto began to make his way to the open seat next to her. She looked his way, and her eyes grew wide as she realized where he was going.

"Naruto-baka, go sit somewhere else, I worked hard to get this seat next to Sasuke-kun. We deserve to be alone," Naruto ignored her and sat next to her.

"But Sakura-chan, how else am I supposed to ask you for a date if I don't sit next to you?"

"BAKA!" Sakura screamed as her fist connected with the blonde's face.

Once Naruto regained consciousness, he took the first seat available. Unfortunately for him, it was not next to Sakura.

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The Genin exam was compromised of four sections: a written test, taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. Luckily for Naruto, the written test only asked for the bare minimum; even a first year academy student could pass it. But Naruto still struggled.

The taijutsu and genjutsu tests were on a one-to-one basis. To pass the taijutsu test, the student had to simply land a hit on the proctor, who was only allowed to block and rotate in place. Naruto, with his unorthodox style, surprised Mizuki, an assistant chunnin, and landed his hit within the first few seconds.

Naruto was dreading the genjutsu test. They were required to dispel a poorly done E-rank genjutsu within a minute of it being administered. However, Naruto never noticed when they were cast in class. Feeling nervous, Naruto followed an unknown chunnin to the genjutsu testing room.

"Like hell I'm going to let this demon pass," The proctor murmured to himself.

" **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu" (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)**

A swirl of leaves enveloped Naruto as Sakura walked through the door.

"Naruto-kun! I finally realized that you're the love of my life. Kiss me!"

"YATAAA! I knew this day would come!"

Naruto leaned in, and just as both of their lips met, Sakura turned into an enraged Sasuke. Realizing that he had just kissed Sasuke, Naruto panicked and threw up, dispelling the illusion.

"What!?" The proctor said as he felt Naruto unwillingly dispel the genjutsu.

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"Naruto, just make me two bunshin and you can become a Genin of Konoha."

Naruto was filled with dread as Iruka guided him through the last part of the ninjutsu test. He could never perform the **Bunshin** technique. He was determined to succeed. Concentrating all of his chakra, Naruto yelled,

" **Bunshin no Jutsu" (Clone Technique)**

Smoked filled the room as a hundred copies of Naruto appeared, yet none of them looked like the real Naruto. Some had extra arms, some were missing arms, one had red hair and green eyes, and another had no face.

"Naruto! You fail again!"

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Naruto was sitting on a swing, far from the newly-minted Genin. Disappointment was evident in his face. He had failed. He would never be a shinobi now. He would never be Hokage. Nobody would acknowledge him. He was a failure; he was a monster.

Mizuki came up to him, offering a stick of dango. Naruto kept on looking forward with the same blank expression.

"Naruto-kun, don't be disappointed. There is still a way you can graduate…" Upon hearing these words Naruto looked up, hope residing in his eyes.

"Eat up and listen…"

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Naruto heard the whistling of kunai coming behind him. He attempted dodging to his left, only to trip on a root. If not for his expertise of falling gracefully, Naruto would have remained on the floor. To an onlooker, it seemed as he purposely rolled.

He felt a sting on his right thigh, but he paid no mind to it…

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 _ **(Flashback)**_

 _Naruto had finally succeeded at learning a jutsu from the scroll._

" _Now Mizuki-sensei will let me graduate." He said to no one in particular._

 _Suddenly, a slew of kunai grazed the blonde. Mizuki stepped out of the shadows._

" _I always wanted to hunt a demon!" A crazed look adorned Mizuki's face._

 _Naruto tried to run, but his body felt stiff._

" _Poison in the dango and on the kunai. I'll still give you a head start…" Mizuki laughed as Naruto disappeared into the trees._

 _ **(End Flashback)**_

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Naruto's muscle stopped reacting and he took the support of the Forbidden Scroll he had stolen from the Hokage's office.

"It's too late to rest now demon!" Mizuki said as he landed on a branch.

"…" Naruto tried to talk, but his mouth was too numb.

"Can't talk already? The poison is acting quicker than I thought. I'm sure you can still feel pain though." Mizuki took a step forward before jumping down to the ground in front of Naruto. He released a onslaught of kicks to Naruto's stomach as he laughed in glee.

 **CRASH!** Mizuki suddenly stopped his assault as the sound of a tree falling was heard in the clearing.

"I would stay to see you suffer, but somebody has set off one of my traps. It must be that good for nothing Iruka. Thank you for getting the scroll for me, demon- _kun!"_ Mizuki bent down and placed the large scroll on his back.

"The poison will eventually kill you but until then…" Mizuki raised his foot and brought it down to the boy's leg. With a sickening crack, the blonde's leg bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. The pain drove the Naruto into unconsciousness.

"Demon's deserver more than!" A slew of punches met the blonde's face. Wiping the blood of his gloves, the Mizuki gave a low chuckle and began to make his escape, but not before setting a small trap for his dear colleague Iruka.

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The first thing he saw when he opened his eye was Iruka. He opened his mouth to speak, but he only coughed up blood,

"It's a trap, Iruka-sensei. It was Mi…" Naruto lost consciousness a second time.

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" **Take his life! He killed Iruka** _ **-sensei,"**_ A deep voice told Naruto, waking him in the process. He looked down at his chest and saw headless body. He lost all control, expelling a great deal of demonic chakra in the process. With slit-blue eyes, Naruto scanned the perimeter, searching for Mizuki's trail. Finding the trail, Naruto took to the trees, unaware at the demonic laughter that coursed through his mind.

 **As you can see, things can be rather dark. The killing of Iruka was a necessity; I could not realistically change Naruto without drastic changes. Leave a review and tell me what you liked, hated, things that need improvement. Anything is welcome.**


	2. Drifting

***Edit: The story was edited so that it is compliant with the edits made in Chapter 1. More details at the bottom* 7/30/2015**

 **The story has been in my head all day, and I couldn't help but write it out.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

 _Flashback_

" **Demon Speech"/ Jutsu**

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Chapter 2: The Will

Naruto awoke drenched in sweat. He attempted to get up, but his body protested. Forcing his himself up, he looked around and noticed he was in his one room apartment. He did not remember coming home.

"Heck, I don't even remember anything after that voice…" Naruto thought worriedly. Knowing that he would not be able to fall asleep, Naruto undressed from his pajamas and put on his trademark orange jumpsuit.

"It all felt so real…"

KNOCK! KNOCK!

" _Hokage-jiji!"_

Naruto somehow knew that it was his grandfather-figure as he opened the door. The sunlight temporarily blinded Naruto, and once his vision adjusted, he saw the Sandaime Hokage accompanied by a medic-nin. But this bothered Naruto; in his dream the Hokage came alone, and he was sure that it was night time.

"Naruto-kun, this is Kitaru Utamara, the medic-nin that treated your wounds yesterday. We wanted to do a follow up…"

"But I didn't get hurt yesterday…" Naruto said with a puzzled look on his face. The Hokage and the medic-nin shared a look. The medic was the first to speak.

"Then why are you bandaged up Naruto-san?"

Looking down at his arms he noticed the heavy bandages covering his arms and legs. He turned around and headed to his bathroom, desperately wishing that his face was intact. He looked at his eyes; they weren't swollen, but he could see bruises that were faintly visible.

"It was all a dream… that never happened…" Tears began to fall down his face. The Hokage and the medic could not help but feel sympathy for the boy.

"Naruto-kun, what happ-"

"NO! IRUKA-SENSEI IS NOT DEAD!" The hysteric child ran towards his bed hands over his ears, almost as if his hands could block the words that were sure to come out of the Sandaime's mouth.

"Naruto!" The Sandaime's grandfather-like tone disappeared and was replaced that one that demanded to be obeyed. The child visibly flinched.

"He can't be…i-i-it was just a nightmare like the other night. Iruka-sensei," Naruto mumbled. The Sandaime placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder, his kind smile returning in the process.

"What happened last night, Jiji?"

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 _ **Flashback**_

 _Naruto took to the trees, intent on catching the traitorous Mizuki. In the flare of malign chakra, he picked up his speed. His broken leg healed; the poison was purged from his system. Naruto wasn't sure how, but he knew that Mizuki was not far away._

" _What are you doing here demon?" Mizuki spat in confusion. "You're supposed to be immobile due to the poison!"_

"…" _Naruto could not think of a response as he landed on the ground in front of Mizuki. Looking at Mizuki with slit-blue eyes, Naruto formed a familiar hand sign._

" _What are you going to do? Use a jutsu on me? Everybody knows that a failure like you can't use jutsu," Mizuki mocked. "You couldn't even warn your teacher in time." A laugh escaped the man._

" _Don't you dare mention him!"_

 _ **Kage Bunshin No Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)**_

 _In his rage, Naruto used too much chakra, bringing to life a thousand clones. Mizuki recognized the technique, and for a moment, fear took over him. Shaking his head, he laughed, "Do you think a thousand failures can take down a chunnin like me?"_

 _Mizuki started by throwing a horde of shuriken at the nearest clones. All the marks found their targets, dispelling eight clones. The clones, realizing that they were being attacked, started to fight one by one. Mizuki was fairly accustomed to Naruto's unorthodox form._

 _The clones' judgment was clouded by ire, making their attacks predictable. With quick speed and minimal strength, Mizuki delivered the softest of counterattacks. He knew it would be foolish to go all out against shadow clones, seeing as hos a simple tap could dispel them. Mizuki wasn't as strong as other ninja, but it was his cunning that made him a chunnin._

 _Grabbing the nearest clone's wrist, Mizuki threw it over his shoulders. Another three clones were hit, and the four of them dispelled._

" _They're too many of them! They'll wear me down eventually," Mizuki thought before pulling out three tags._

 _He pressed chakra into the first tag. As soon as he did, smoke began to cover the clearing. Mizuki maneuvered expertly around the smoke, activating the other two tags as he did._

 _ **SSSSSSS! BOOOOM! BOOOM!**_

 _The exploding tags went off, taking one hundred clones with them. Mizuki did not want to alert the ninja that were surely looking for Naruto and the scroll, but he had no choice. Without looking back, he leapt onto the nearest branch._

 _Naruto was dazed by the explosions and the smoke, but one of the clones noticed Mizuki's attempt at escaping. The clone started his pursuit; the rest quickly followed._

 _No matter how quick the clones were, Mizuki was still faster and was slowly pulling away. The clones began to throw anything they could: kunai, shuriken, and even rocks. Like Naruto, the clones had terrible aim, but due to the sheer mount of projectiles, Mizuki was bound to get hit._

 _True enough, the projectiles were able to hit the scroll hanging from Mizuki's back, causing him to lose his balance. The horde of Naruto's caught up to the now-prone Mizuki, and for a second they began to beat him senseless._

 _Somewhere in the storm of punches and kicks, Mizuki was able to remove his remaining exploding tags from one of his pouches. He made a few hand signs before flaring his chakra._

" _ **Taiyoken No Jutsu" (Solar Flare Technique)**_

 _The clones were incapacitated. Mizuki activated the explosive tags, and once again took to the trees._

 **BOOM!**

 _The tags exploded in conjunction, leaving only the original Naruto standing. The chase continued as soon as Naruto recovered his bearings. Mizuki, however, could not run at his previous speed due to Naruto's assault._

 _Naruto caught up with an injured Mizuki near a training ground that was covered in "Do Not Enter" signs. Mizuki realized where he was, weighing his odds, he jumped the fence and headed into the forest._

 _Naruto followed without hesitation, not noticing the neon sign that said: "Training Ground 44."_

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" _I found you Mizuki-teme," Naruto said in a disturbingly calm voice as he cornered Mizuki to a wall of rocks. His anger had only been increasing as the chase prolonged. His slit-blue eyes had turned a crimson red; his nails grew longer; his hair took on a feral appearance. A cloak of red chakra, adorned with a single tail, covered his body._

 _Mizuki was bloodied and bruised, and he knew he could not run away, much less with the Forbidden Scroll dangling from his back. Pulling out a fuma shuriken, Mizuki set up his last resort. Mustering all of his strength, he threw the projectile._

" _ **Soshuriken no Jutsu" (Manipulated Shuriken Technique)**_

 _Naruto, thanks to his chakra enhanced reflexes, easily dodged the fuma shuriken. This, however, was what Mizuki was expecting. Pulling on the string attached to the shuriken, Mizuki maneuvered it to come from behind Naruto, striking the blonde's kidney._

 _While this would have killed any normal shinobi, the cloaked Naruto only fell in pain. The red chakra intensified. Two more tails accompanied the first. The kidney wound began to heal at a slow pace._

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 _ **Sometime before…**_

 _The Sandaime Hokage was worried. Scratch that. He was internally panicking. First, Naruto came in and stole the Forbidden Scroll. He set out a high alert and every shinobi in the village was searching for him. Second, Sarutobi Hiruzen sensed a spike of malign chakra that had only one source: the Kyuubi._

 _To top everything off, an ANBU team had just found Umino Iruka decapitated near training ground forty. The Sandaime made a hand sign, and in less than a second he had a cat masked ANBU in front of him._

" _Cat, find Kakashi and tell him to use his summons to find this scent." The Sandaime procured a pair of goggles known to be worn by Naruto._

" _Hai, Hokage-sama!" The ANBU disappeared in a puff of smoke._

" _I have a bad feeling about this."_

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 _Kakashi Hatake was following a brown small ninken._

" _Pakkun, how far is he?" Kakashi asked._

 _Pakkun sniffed the air and pointed, "Four kilometers that way. They're not moving."_

 _ **BOOM! BOOM!**_

 _Two explosions were heard in the distance._

" _Now they are!"_

 _The duo picked up the pace._

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 _ **BOOM!**_

" _That tag went off near the Forest of Death," Pakkun told the silver-haired ninja._

" _Are you sure Pakkun?"_

" _When have I been wrong before Kakashi?"_

 _The duo eventually reached the edge of the forbidden training ground._

" _He is only a kilometer in, so is the man he's been following. I smell a pack of creatures headed their way."_

" _Let's pick up the pace, Pakkun."_

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 _ **Back with Naruto**_

 _The pack of wolves came out of nowhere. Within seconds of arriving, they killed Mizuki. Upon seeing Mizuki die, Naruto's rage dissipated, the chakra cloak along with it. The wolves turned their attention to the seemingly defenseless Naruto._

 _Using his only explosive tag, Naruto was able to dispatch the two wolves that attacked him._

 _The pack, initially compromised of nine eight-foot tall wolves, was left down to seven. Naruto, however, was rapidly losing blood; his kidney wound had reopened._

 _The wolves growled and circled Naruto. The largest of them all lunged at Naruto. He was only able to avoid its intimidating bite, taking a hit from the wolf's heavy claw. The last thing he saw was a giant ball of fire._

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" _ **Katon: Goukakyuu No Jutsu!"**_

 _Kakashi delivered a giant fireball to the wolves surrounding Naruto. The wolves fled at the arrival of the Jounin. Kakashi took note of the blonde's condition and placed him on his shoulders. Kakashi walked towards the bloodied Forbidden Scroll and sealed it within another, more inconspicuous scroll. He had to report back to the Sandaime._

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" _Hokage-sama, here is Naruto and the Forbidden Scroll. I found him near training ground 44. He was accompanied by a chunnin. Based on what Pakkun told me, Naruto had been in pursuit of this ninja."_

 _The Sandaime had a contemplative look on his face._

" _What about the Kyuubi's chakra?"_

" _I sensed it as well, but when I arrived to him, there were no signs of it."_

" _Thank you Kakashi, you are dismissed." With a short bow, the Jounin disappeared in a puff of smoke. Just as Kakashi was leaving, an ANBU was summoned by the Hokage._

" _Call Kitaru Utamara we are in need of his services."_

 _ **End Flashback**_

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"Last night, Mizuki stole the Forbidden Scroll under a **Henge (Transformation)**. He killed Iruka during his attempted escape. I'm sorry Naruto…"

The Sandaime's smile transformed into a look of concern as he noticed Naruto's eyes grow dark. The medic took a step forward and gave Naruto a questioning look. Naruto did not react and the medic began examining the boy.

"Hokage-sama! It's incredible! His wounds are minimal except for the gash near his kidney. Even then, it appears the incision was made weeks ago!"

"Is he in good health?"

"Other than superficial wounds, Naruto is healthy… he does appear to be underweight though."

"Thank you Utamara-san. You are dismissed." The medic left the two alone.

"…"

"…"

The Sandaime and Naruto stayed in silence for a few minutes. Clearing his throat, the Sandaime pulled out a ninja headband from one of his pockets.

"Naruto, I know that you failed the Genin exam yesterday, but given what you have done for the village, I have decided to give you a field promotion. You are now a Genin of Konohagakure."

The Sandaime expected the boy to at least smile, but his words seem to fly past the boy.

"Why did you say Mizuki was the one to steal the scroll? We both know it was me… We both know that I killed Iruka sensei!"

The Sandaime looked at Naruto with a sad look.

"Naruto, Mizuki did steal the scroll. He might have used you to achieve his purpose, but in the end, it was him who plotted this crime. Nobody, aside from me and you, know that you stole it. Should my advisors find out you did, they would certainly convict you to a sentence worse than death." Sarutobi did not want to see Naruto under Danzou's care.

"I lied to protect you Naruto-kun. You are a leaf of the Great Tree. You are the carrier of the Will of Fire. "

"Will of Fire? That is something that ninja's have. I'm not a ninja. I'm weak. I'm a failure. I killed Iruka-sensei." Naruto's voice was barely audible.

"Naruto! You did not kill Iruka."

"Had I been stronger…had I not be-"

"NARUTO! ENOUGH!" The Sandaime wiped tears from Naruto's eyes.

"Iruka died protecting you. He had the desire of seeing the leaves mature. Mizuki was a traitor; he to burn the tree. Tell me Naruto, do you want him to succeed?"

Naruto shook his head and began to open his mouth.

"Look at this headband Naruto. Do you know to whom it used to belong?" He offered the blue headband to Naruto.

Naruto took it, feeling the cold steel upon the tip of his finger as he ran over the Konoha symbol that was engraved on it. The steel had a few knicks and scratches, evidence that it had been worn before. Naruto recognized the headband immediately.

"It's Iruka-sensei's."

"He would have wanted you to have it. You know that he wanted desperately to pass you. After you failed, he came to me to see if there was another way for you to graduate. That was his last wish, and here you are accomplishing it for him."

Naruto looked up from the headband and into the eyes of the elderly man.

"He cared for you Naruto. You were a lot like him. He used to play pranks all the time. He was an orphan as well." Hearing the Sandaime say that he and Iruka were alike made Naruto feel a sense of pride. It was quickly washed away by his thoughts.

"But I was weak. I couldn't save him. Mizuki called me a failure."

"You have the training of an academy student. Mizuki had been a ninja for about a decade. There was no way you were going to beat him. But somehow you did. Iruka truly believed that you would be Hokage one day. He saw your potential."

"I can't be a ninja Jiji… I can't be a ninja. I can't be Hokage anymore." The usual vibrant sapphire eyes were a dull blue.

"Naruto, Iruka wanted you to be a ninja. He wanted you to have his headband. What do you mean you can't be Hokage? Then who is going to replace me when I retire? Are you going to fail Iruka's trust." The Hokage asked.

"I already failed him, Jiji."

"Naruto, believe it or not Iruka left you a gift, and it is not this headband. I can't force you to be a ninja, but if you choose not to, you are spitting on Iruka's grave."

"You're not weak Naruto. I'm leaving the headband here. Iruka's funeral will be later today. Tomorrow the Genin teams are being assigned in your old classroom at the academy. You will make the choice Iruka wanted you to make."

The Sandaime looked backed at Naruto, opened the door, and left.

"What gift did he mean?" Naruto thought. He had some serious thinking to do.

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Naruto did not want the sun to shine. He wanted the clouds to cover the sky; he wanted the rain to mourn his teacher. Naruto was at Iruka's funeral, along with many of the chunnin's students. Naruto looked at the bright sky and once again cursed that the weather did not match his feelings.

One by one, Iruka's students approached the coffin, each of them leaving a white rose. Naruto did not approach the closed coffin. He was not ready to say his good bye to his teacher.

"You should go, before it's too late," A silver haired, one-eyed man whispered into his ear. Naruto turned around, but saw no one. He must have been imagining things. But he decided to listen to the voice; he would go talk to his teacher.

Naruto waited for the crowd to disappear, it took hours, but at least he was alone with Iruka's coffin.

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto began, "Jiji told me you wanted me to have this; that you wanted me to be a ninja." He clutched the blue head band. " I will never let a student lose their sensei… a leaf will not lose its branch." Tears flowed down the blonde's cheeks.

"Jiji also told me you gave me something else, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is." Naruto pulled out a white rose and left it on top of the casket.

" I found out that they are going to engrave your name on some sort of stone. This isn't goodbye; I'll talk to you soon Iruka-sensei." Placing the headband on his forehead, Naruto looked up, and with a wipe of his hand, his face was free of tears. Naruto knew what he had to do.

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In the Hokage Tower, the Sandaime looked at the exchange from his crystal ball.

"You know, I have a feeling that he is going to turn out a lot like you, Kakashi."

The addressed man stayed quiet.

"I'm going to put you on his team, along with Sasuke-kun and the Haruno girl. Do not fail them Kakashi."

"I won't." Memories of his dead teammates flashed through Kakashi's mind.

"Naruto will need a new branch, lest he drift away from the tree. With the loss of Iruka he is drifting, much like Sasuke-kun."

Kakashi knew what it was like to lose a bond to the village. He knew what he had to do.

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 **There goes another chapter. I wanted to implement a little bit of action into this chapter, but seeing as how I have never written anything like that, I struggled. Naruto has already started to experience change, and I firmly believe that Iruka's gift will prove to be key here. I'm not good with emotional writing, but I did try my best. Let me know what you guys think.**

 ***The biggest change was Naruto's interaction with Iruka at the funeral, followed by Kakashi's interaction with the Hokage. After rereading the chapter, I realized that I did not convey the message I originally wanted.***


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